A family of Eastern European refugees finds a home in racially charged St. Louis in this sweeping historical novel from a National Jewish Book Award finalist.

In 1916, Mags Preacher arrives in the big city of St. Louis, fresh from the piney woods, hoping to learn the beauty trade. Instead, she winds up with a job at Fishbein’s Funeral Home, run by an émigré who came to America to flee the pogroms of Russia. Mags knows nothing about Jews except that they killed the Lord Jesus Christ, but by the time her boss saves her life during the race riots in East St. Louis, all her perceptions have changed.

Marching to Zion is the story of Mags and of Mr. Fishbein, but it’s also the story of Fishbein’s daughter, Minerva, a beautiful redhead with an air of danger about her, and Magnus Bailey, Fishbein’s charismatic business partner and Mags’s first friend in town. When Magnus falls for Minerva’s willful spirit, he’ll learn just how dangerous she can be for a black man in America.

Readers of Mary Glickman’s One More River will celebrate the return of Aurora Mae Stanton, who joins a cast of vibrant new characters in a tale that stretches from East St. Louis, Missouri, to Memphis, Tennessee, from World War I to the Great Depression. Hailed as “a powerful reminder of the discrimination and unspeakable hardships African Americans suffered,” Marching to Zion is a gripping love story, a fascinating angle on history, and a compelling meditation on justice and fate (Jewish Book Council).

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"This moving novel . . . handled with credibility by the talented Glickman . . . is sustained by the rich period detail and by strong and fully realized characters." -Booklist "Coincidence or not, the publication of Marching to Zion on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of The March on Washington is a powerful reminder of the discrimi-nation and unspeakable hardships African Americans suffered. . . . Marching to Zion is a memorable story, with a very clear message that the journey is not over." -Jewish Book Council "Readers who are interested in Southern historical novels examining black-white relationships and those who enjoy good storytelling are the natural audience here." -Library Journal "Religion isn't the only thing that stirs Glickman to fervor: she writes in a high-drama, no-holds-barred style when it comes to romance. . . . [An] entertaining novel about sins of the flesh and the redemptive power of belief." -Publishers Weekly "Glickman skillfully conveys the struggles of African-Americans and Jews during this era." -Kirkus Reviews "A powerful tale of love, hatred, violence, hope, and regeneration. At its center, lives entwined, are a black man and a Jewish refugee, each as staunch and tenacious as the Zion they both seek." -Sonia Taitz, author of The Watchmaker's Daughter "A literary triumph, and easily the best novel I have read this year. Mary Glickman's story of hope burns brightly through the darkness, driven by characters fighting to maintain dignity above all else." -Sandi Krawchenko Altner, author of Ravenscraig "Mary Glickman gives us a nuanced image of our twentieth-century selves, our society woven into stunning art. I see the Mississippi floods, the Jewish and African American dance of interconnection, and ultimately our paired journey toward Zion." -Carolivia Herron, author of Thereafter Johnnie and Nappy Hair

Product Description

A family of Eastern European refugees finds a home in racially charged St. Louis in this sweeping historical novel from a National Jewish Book Award finalist.

In 1916, Mags Preacher arrives in the big city of St. Louis, fresh from the piney woods, hoping to learn the beauty trade. Instead, she winds up with a job at Fishbein’s Funeral Home, run by an émigré who came to America to flee the pogroms of Russia. Mags knows nothing about Jews except that they killed the Lord Jesus Christ, but by the time her boss saves her life during the race riots in East St. Louis, all her perceptions have changed.

Marching to Zion is the story of Mags and of Mr. Fishbein, but it’s also the story of Fishbein’s daughter, Minerva, a beautiful redhead with an air of danger about her, and Magnus Bailey, Fishbein’s charismatic business partner and Mags’s first friend in town. When Magnus falls for Minerva’s willful spirit, he’ll learn just how dangerous she can be for a black man in America.

Readers of Mary Glickman’s One More River will celebrate the return of Aurora Mae Stanton, who joins a cast of vibrant new characters in a tale that stretches from East St. Louis, Missouri, to Memphis, Tennessee, from World War I to the Great Depression. Hailed as “a powerful reminder of the discrimination and unspeakable hardships African Americans suffered,” Marching to Zion is a gripping love story, a fascinating angle on history, and a compelling meditation on justice and fate (Jewish Book Council).

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3.9 out of 5 stars
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K. Franke Hill

3.0 out of 5 starsGood Characters, Interesting Storyline

27 July 2014 - Published on Amazon.com

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This story about Jews and African-Americans in the early 20th century pulls you along with its characters and the situations they face. The characters are well drawn and compelling. The weakness is that it starts with one story then shifts to another story, leaving the first storyline rather abruptly. Even so, the plot remains interesting until it kind of slams into a wall at the ending. A pretty enjoyable read, none the less.

Mary Glickman’s third novel, Marching to Zion, is set against the rich backdrop of the early 1900s along the Mississippi River. She breathes life into the complex characters who inhabit a world where love is forbidden between blacks and whites. After dealing with the horrific flooding along the banks of the Mississippi, the red-haired Jewish woman Minerva Fischbein reunites with the man she loves—Magnus Bailey, a successful black entrepreneur who had once partnered with Minerva’s adopted father. Glickman spins a fascinating tale as she introduces us to the willful child who grows up into a successful Madame running her own brothel and the unfortunate events that unfold around her. Although it isn’t necessary to read Glickman’s first two novels, Home in the Morning and One More River, in order to enjoy this novel, they provide a good insight into a southern world that is no longer.